Noughts and Crosses
by Tropical Medlies
Summary: Jade keeps showing up at Tori's house and Tori can't seem to find it in her to stop letting it happen. One-shot.


1. The first time Jade shows up at Tori's door, she's absolutely livid. Tori's only half-awake, having dozed off while working on her homework, and she just barely dodges the whirlwind of black and silver that is an angry Jade West.

Jade spins on her heel, her face contorted with rage (but still looking so, so pretty, Tori can't help but think, because when does Jade ever not look pretty?), her favorite pair of scissors clutched in one hand.

"He cheated on me. He _cheated _on me. That lying son of a bitch cheated on me!"

Tori stares at Jade dumbly, unsure if she's comprehending the words correctly. "Beck…cheated on you?"

Jade laughs bitterly, throwing her hands in the air. "No, Andre. Yes, Beck! With some Northridge girl he met at a party. Says he was drunk, she kissed him, it wasn't his fault."

She throws herself down on Tori's couch, inspecting her scissors now, a fair bit of anger erased from her face. Still, Tori eases her way next to Jade, just in case the other girl snaps and tries to stab her. "And when did this happen?"

"I don't know, like an hour ago?"

"And he told you right after?"

"Yeah. He called me and told me he was sorry and that he left right away and asked if we could talk because he didn't want this to be anything big." Jade's words are coming slower and slower now, as if she's realizing something. Suddenly she pushes herself off the couch and heads for the door, opening it and leaving without saying anything else to Tori.

Tori stares after her before sighing. "Well, then."

—

2. The next time Tori's doorbell rings, she's arguing with Trina over a brand new top that her sister has managed to somehow burn a hole through. Giving up on trying to win - because there is no winning where Trina is concerned - she goes to answer the door.

Jade is leaning against the doorframe, casually glancing at her nails before sparing Tori a look. "Vega."

Tori frowns. "Jade."

Nothing else is said until Tori peers around the door, wondering if any of their other friends are coming, or if it's just Jade. "Um, why are you here?"

"You're going to help me with a song for one of my classes."

Jade smirks at the look that Tori's giving her. "Well, that's not a pretty face," she murmurs, before shouldering her way into the Vega household.

"Come on, we have a lot of work to do."

Tori crosses her arms. "I didn't agree to this yet."

Jade's sitting on the couch at this point, having already opened up her bag and pulled out a binder. "But you will. Three…two…one…"

"Fine, I'll do it!"

It's ridiculous how easily Jade West can get her to do things.

—

3. By the third time Jade shows up at her house, Tori is almost expecting it. What she isn't expecting is that Jade is crying. She's seen Jade cry before, back when she and Beck broke up the first time, and she wonders if this is the reason why this time, too.

Jade's clearly trying to hold it together as she stands in the doorway, but her shiny eyes and clenched jaw give her away, and Tori opens the door wider without a word. Jade heads straight to the couch (to her "side" of the couch now, as Tori thinks of it) and puts her head in her hands.

For the next half an hour or so, Tori can only rub Jade's back and whisper comforting things to her and push the girl's black hair out of her face once in a while until she seems to calm down. Then she gets her make-up remover and tissues to help with the runny mess on Jade's face, but by the time she makes it back downstairs Jade is gone.

—

4. The calmest that Tori ever sees Jade when she arrives at her house is the day that Beck breaks up with her. It's also the day that Tori expected the Earth to end, simply because Jade would murder anyone and everyone that dared to even breathe in her direction.

But no, there she is, looking like her usual self, in Tori's favorite outfit - the green, long-sleeved top with the black skirt - and she even _shrugs _when she relays the news. They head to the couch, Tori picks up some ice cream from the kitchen, and they sit in silence for a while, watching _The Scissoring _until Tori can't contain herself any longer.

"Jade?"

"Vega."

"Why do you keep coming here?"

"For Trina, obviously. Now shut up, this is my favorite part."

Tori picks up the remote and pauses the movie, causing Jade to scowl.

"Seriously, Jade. I mean, when Beck broke up with you a few years ago, you could've gone to Cat. You could've gone to Cat when he cheated on you. Andre would've been more help writing that song, and whatever made you cry that night, I'm sure Beck would have been more than happy to be there for you. And you hate me. So…why me?"

Jade clenches her jaw, drops her spoon into her ice cream cup, and sets it down on the coffee table before standing up and picking up her bag. She makes it to the door, one hand on the knob, and then shrugs her shoulders. "I don't hate you."

Then she disappears.

—

5. This time, it's Tori who shows up at Jade's. She gets the address out of Cat by bribing her with bibble, and she has to admit, it's not at all what she imagined. She thought it would be a massive, Gothic mansion, but it's actually sort of cute. It's huge, for sure, but it seems like any other Hollywood home.

When she knocks on the door an older version of Jade - minus the dark clothing, piercings, and highlights - answers the door, all smiles. "Let me just bring you up to Jadelyn's room," she says, before leading her upstairs. Tori knocks on this door - painted black and adorned with a skull and crossbones, no less - and it's only a few seconds before Jade appears, looking down at her phone and sounding annoyed. "Cat I told you, I don't want to do any more videos."

"I'm not Cat."

It's almost comical how quickly Jade's head snaps up, and for an instant Tori sees a glimmer of nervousness, of a need to impress in Jade's eyes before her cool exterior slides back into place. "Why are you in my house, Vega?"

"Oh, you know, just thought I'd drop in. I know how much you like to do it to me, so I thought I'd return the favor. It's nice." She trails her finger along the wall, aware that Jade's eyes are following her every movement.

She spins around to lock eyes with Jade and cocks her head to the side. "You like me."

Jade's fast. "No, I don't."

"Oh, yeah, you do."

"Vega, if there was a human being on this planet that I liked less - "

Tori cuts her off by stepping forward, very much into Jade's personal space, and she can see how Jade's eyes grow wide, how she drops the act and lets how nervous she is be written all over her face. "Vega, don't," she breathes.

"Don't what, Jade?"

And that's when Jade kisses her, arms wrapping around Tori's slim waist and pulling her flush against her body. It catches Tori off-guard but only momentarily, and then she's responding back, tangling her hands in Jade's hair. Before pulling away Jade nips at Tori's lower lip, and when it's over, Tori grins cheekily at Jade.

"Guess I'll see you around, then. Don't worry, I can let myself out."

She opens Jade's door and leaves, saying goodbye to Mrs. West as she goes, and congratulates herself on a plan well-executed once she gets outside.

Jade, on the other hand, is already planning another trip to the Vega household.


End file.
